A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the final forfeiture of $13 million linked to businesswoman Aisha Achimugu and her company, Oceangate Engineering Oil & Gas Ltd, to the Federal Government.
Delivering judgment on March 25, 2026, Justice Emeka Nwite held that the company failed to provide credible evidence establishing lawful ownership of the funds, which the court found to be proceeds of fraud.
The case was initiated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, which challenged the legitimacy of the $13 million. In his ruling, Justice Nwite stated that the anti-graft agency successfully demonstrated that the funds were derived from unlawful activities and should be forfeited.
The court rejected claims by Oceangate that the money constituted a mix of legitimate business earnings and personal gifts to Achimugu. The judge noted that neither Achimugu nor any alleged donor appeared before the court to substantiate the claims.
“No evidence was presented to show the source of the funds or any business transaction that generated such income,” the court held, adding that the burden of proof rested on the applicant to disprove the EFCC’s allegations.
Justice Nwite further observed that the company failed to demonstrate any contractual engagements or payments from clients that could justify the funds in question.
The final order follows an earlier interim forfeiture granted by the court on August 22, 2025, which directed the EFCC to publish a notice inviting interested parties to show cause why the funds should not be permanently forfeited.
In an affidavit filed before the court, EFCC investigator Usman Aliyu stated that the Commission acted on intelligence indicating that Oceangate used funds suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activity to acquire oil blocks from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission.
He alleged that the $13 million was used to pay signature bonuses for oil assets PPL 302 and PPL 3007, and that the funds were traced to transfers made by contractors handling state government projects, despite no formal business relationship with Oceangate.
Aliyu further claimed that the contractors were neither investors nor shareholders in the company, raising concerns about the legitimacy of the transactions.
The EFCC also challenged the credibility of Oceangate’s defence, stating that the deponent to its affidavit, Iliya Wakil, was a nominal director without shareholding in the company and an employee of another firm allegedly linked to Achimugu.
According to the Commission, Wakil admitted in an extrajudicial statement that he acted on instructions from Achimugu and did not receive remuneration from Oceangate.
The investigator described Oceangate as a shell entity allegedly used to acquire petroleum assets with illicit funds, a claim the court ultimately found persuasive in granting the final forfeiture order.
The ruling marks a significant development in the EFCC’s efforts to recover assets suspected to be proceeds of corruption and financial crimes.
